Well, my birthday was back in June and this year is almost over, so I decided that I had better get a move on and write about the realization that I am 75 years old. My friend asked if I would change the name of my blog, but I figured that 75 and beyond covers the rest of my life since I will always be beyond 70 years old.

It dawned on me a few days after I turned 75 that I am now three-quarters of a century old. That’s really unbelievable and a little wow and a little scary. As we old folks like to say, “where did the time go” and “time passes faster the older that you get”. I can add to this: “time flies when you are having fun”.

As I pondered being 3/4 of a century old, I thought of my grandmother, who was born in November, 1899. I used to think how the world had changed during her lifetime. She learned to drive in a Ford Model-T and it was the start of feasible air flight; toward the end of her life people had gone into space and traveled to the moon. One major change was her right to vote. I could go on and on about the changes in her life, but that is probably for another writing.

Now I ponder the changes that have occurred in my lifetime and it may not be quite as spectacular as the changes in her life. However, as I began to make a list, it grew longer and longer. I am really quite amazed because at times it seems there has not been as much progress as I thought. I’m a science fiction fan, so I wonder where are the flying cars and the robots that do my housework.

I would like to share my list, but I will not go into great detail or even list all the changes. That might become tedious to the reader because as I say my list kept growing. I also do not intend to dwell on the negatives because as always there are plenty of those.

To begin with the beginning, I was born at the end of World War II. Truman was President. My dad was in the army and fought in Europe. I’ve always lived in Texas, so much of my formative years were spent in Tyler (East Texas). My parents were divorced when I was in elementary school and that was unusual back then. I didn’t know anyone else who was in a similar situation, except for my sister. Now it seems that is a common situation. I went to segregated schools, worried about the nuclear bomb, worried about getting polio, and worried about the Cold War. My step-dad even thought about building a bomb shelter in the back yard. During college, President Kennedy was assassinated as well as other leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., integration of schools began, more people were enrolling in higher education. I got married 4 days before I turned 20. Now people are waiting later to marry and I think that is a good thing. The early years of our marriage were fraught with worry that my husband would be drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam; fortunately, that never happened. I got to vote for the first time when I turned 21 because until 1971 a person had to be 21 years old to vote. One of the most exciting things was watching a man land on the moon as it happened because we had television. Later, we had two lovely daughters, 2 great sons-in-laws, and 3 wonderful grandchildren. Life has always had its ups and downs, but fortunately everything has always worked out for us. We’ve lost beloved family members to motor accidents, Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart attacks, and strokes. But with God’s love and help we have always remained positive and family-strong.

That covered some of the last 75 years. Here are some more changes that have happened over the years:

end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall,

black and white TV to colored TV and flat paneled TV, cable and satellite services, and streaming services,

advances in computer technology with personal computers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, internet, social media, internet of things, streaming music and movies, cloud services, face to face communication, blue tooth, WiFi, robot vacuum cleaners, technology in cars, cellular service, fiber optic cable, online shopping and banking, virtual and augmented reality,

vaccinations to eliminate diseases such as, polio, measles, mumps,

rotary dial telephones, party lines, wireless phones, satellite phones, and mobile phones,

from huge sedans to SUVs and from plain pickups to fancy ones, leaded to unleaded fuels to electric and hybrid vehicles, driver assisted vehicles, fewer passenger trains,

movies from black and white to color, multiplex theaters, movies at home through VCR, DVD, Blue Ray, and streaming, movies in 3D at home and in the theaters,

music from 45 and LP discs on record players, tapes, cassettes, CDs, streaming,

larger and larger homes, more places for eating out and for recreation, more sports teams, more women working, more children going to day care, earlier education for children, more advanced college degrees, more people traveling, change from formal clothing to extremely casual, women wearing pants instead of dresses, more openness, credit cards, air-conditioning, improved medical care,

Korean War, Vietnam War, 9/11 attacks, terrorists, mass murders, ongoing military conflicts around the world, climate changes, people becoming too polarized to work together to solve problems, and more problems too numerous to write about, especially since I’m trying not to be too negative.

One thing that has changed for the good as far as I am concerned: people have longer, healthier lives. “Old” people contribute more to society than they have in the past because they and I really mean “we” have the opportunity to share our accumulated knowledge with others.

Please feel free to add to this list by adding to comments. I would love to hear your remembrances. I am sure that I have left out many things.